The Furminator Review: Dog Grooming Made Easy

Here is how we came about the Furminator:

We have a dog, a big dog, a big furry dog who emits big furry balls of fluffy fur which float around our house and collect in corners and along room edges. We also have a child, a cute child who we love dearly. The aforementioned hair is not only unsightly, but can be unhygienic for said toddler who has the standard toddler tendency to drop food on the floor and then pick up the morsel, which is now disguised as a ball of fluff.

Not only this but when we clean, which is usually around 10 minutes before we have guests arriving, one shake of the Sam's head results in a cloud of dander which soon becomes fallout on our otherwise sparkly laminate floor.

Although great in many ways, not even Mr. Dyson can help in these situations and this is the reason we resorted to Mr. Furminator.

When weather permits, outside is an excellent choice of venue for the Furminator operation. Not only will this mean you won't have to clean up the resultant balls of wool, but it is also immensely satisfying to see the balls of fluff float away in the breeze like fluffy cumulus clouds. Even if it is not windy, seeing the carpet you have just created on your lawn will remind you what a great investment you just made and make you consider saving the fluff to have spun into yarn for your next knitting project.

Generally speaking dogs quite like this because it is like being petted the way they like it; in a slightly rough, tactile manner. The problem with being outside, of course, is that when the squirrels decide to play on the tree trunk nearby, the dog wall spontaneously go into attack mode and temporarily forget about more mundane pleasures.

Cats, on the other hand, need more delicate treatment and even though they can enjoy being groomed in certain areas, they won't just stay still. They will either run away, possibly having first taken a chunk of skin from your hand, or meander about your hand purring which makes it a long drawn out process. Apparently, the only difference between the different models is the size, and the actual teeth and blades are the same. Having said that, I think a smaller Furminator would work better for the cats.

Although the natural start is at the head and neck area, working backwards, you will really be surprised when you get to the rump area, just in front of the tail. You'll be amazed how long you can keep scraping there and still keep getting fur coming out. Don't forget the tail, just keep scraping until the fur feels smooth and then scrape some more.

The really fluffy part right behind the hind legs is probably the most lucrative part of the dog, for the Furminator, in terms of bushels per acre. If the dog has been sitting for the grooming, find a way to get it to stand for this which, for us, is the hardest part: Sam likes to be facing me and I must admit that being directly behind is not my favorite angle-on-dog. It is at this point where we often engage in an elaborate spinning dance which must cause mirth among the neighbors who may or may not be watching the whole charade.

Another high yield can be had from the chest. The biggest problem here is that the dog will probably either want to watch what you are doing or lick your hand. Either of these will involve him looking down and spoiling your angles. Imagine shaving with your chin against your neck and you get the idea.

The above is some of the fur I got off Sam in today's furgicide action. The rest is either out of shot or floated over to our overjoyed neighbor's yard on the breeze. Pretty impressive, especially when you consider that I had only Furminated Sam a week prior.

I have always been very weary of these products that you can not generally buy in the stores but must, instead, dial a 1-800 number and pay with 3 easy installments. My thinking has always been that if a product is good enough then there must be stores willing to carry the item. For whatever reason, this isn't the case.

I bought my Furminator on Ebay for around $20 if I remember correctly and I am very pleased even though I don't use it as much as I ought.